About Solstice Bichons
One small moment can change your life.
I never set out to be a Bichon breeder. I was given my first Bichon on a whim by Liz Paul of Ardynas Bichons, who was an icon in the competitive grooming world. I had just moved to Florida and was beginning my competitive grooming career when I rode along with my then employer, who was helping Liz place her dogs due to her declining health. When we arrived, I was introduced to Liz as an ambitious up and coming groomer with an interest in competing. Upon hearing that, Liz decided I needed a dog of my own to kick start my career, on the condition that Liz could breed the dog and get a litter from her.
She looked around the bichons scattered about her feet and briefly paused, and reached down to grab a small, shaved creature, thrusting her toward me. To my untrained eye, none of the dogs wandering around looked especially impressive due to being completely shaved down from Hurricane Charlie, which had left Liz and surrounding residents without power or air conditioning for weeks. The one she placed in my arms had big soft eyes and leaned right into me. Liz said, "This is Eve; take her home". And that was that. I told my husband we only had her temporarily while finding her another home. Spoiler alert: I never found one... never tried.
Sadly, Liz passed away shortly after the first litter was born. Unsure of what to do with the two puppies, I decided to keep the male, Eli, for myself and find a loving home for the female, Lily. Since I had to register the puppies, and Liz's kennel name could not be used, I had to quickly determine my own kennel name. I chose "Solstice" in part as a nod to Eve (registered name Ardynas Shimmering Moon) and because the litter was born on the Winter Solstice.
I tried my hand at showing Eve; we were learning together. I made a lot of mistakes, and she did not particularly love the show dog life. But that's ok because she was an amazing companion and traveled with me to grooming competitions, which were much more her speed. She later became my foundation bitch, and all Solstice Bichons can trace their lineage back to Eve.
It's amazing how a single moment can completely change the trajectory of your life.
-Lindsey
Who We Are
Lindsey Dicken
Founder, Owner, Handler
I grew up in Michigan and loved animals my whole life; although my first love was horses and weekends would find me at horse shows or the barn. My interest in animals led me to a part-time after-school job as a veterinary assistant and a part-time job as a dog bather for a local groomer. The grooming shop owner took me on as an apprentice and gave me a foundation in dog grooming. When I moved to Florida, bringing my horse proved to be too difficult due to cost so I found myself needing something to fill my competitive tendencies. Dog shows fit the bill, so I transitioned from horses to dogs. I've met a ton of people because of my grooming journey and that is largely the reason for my success.
Ashley Burks
Owner, Handler
We always had a dachshund growing up, and I got my first dachshund as an adult in 2007 from Lindsey. My mother had recently purchased a bichon boy, Murphy, around the same time to train in agility. After graduating college, I wanted to do the same. In 2012, Moses joined our family, and we began agility training as well. I slowly started tagging along to conformation and grooming shows with Lindsey and caught the dog show bug, which led to me joining Solstice Bichons as a co-breeder. I currently have 2 dachshunds (Minnie Pearl and Freyja) and 3 bichons (Moses, Arwen and Pippin). I enjoy conformation, agility, obedience, FastCAT, coursing ability, and barn hunt activities with my crew. Outside of work and canine activities, I also serve as the Treasurer for GroomTeam USA and Dog-On-It Agility Club.